Glasheen says it's likely the railroad would have some responsibility in the case

Lubbock personal injury lawyer Kevin Glasheen, whose firm has won some of the state’s largest judgments for victims in personal injury cases, is teaming with a Kansas lawyer who specializes in railroad accidents to represent some victims of Thursday’s disaster in Midland.

Glasheen is working with Bob Pottroff of Manhattan, Kan., to represent some victims, according to an announcement from the Lubbock firm of Glasheen, Valles & Inderman.

The Lubbock attorney said no determination has been made on defendants in a lawsuit, but added that from his experience, it’s likely the railroad would have some responsibility in the case for a variety of reasons.

Among them, he said, would be such things as whether the locomotive’s horn was audible at an appropriate distance, and whether the crossing gates and signals were operating appropriately.

Glasheen said a team of lawyers and expert witnesses will be in Midland over the weekend to examine the wreck site, interview witnesses and do other research.

Glasheen has won verdicts in excess of $10 million in two railroad crossing cases in Texas.

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Seriously, personal injury and defense attorneys do not do official investigations and do not assess fault in criminal cases; that is the responsibility of district attorneys and state and federal agencies. PI and defense lawyers represent their clients and their own pocketbooks and are not bound by using the facts in a case. Their primary goal is to force a settlement by threatening long expensive lawsuits, and failing that trying to find a sympathetic jury who will award damages based on emotion and not facts.

And if there were no attorneys stepping forward to protect the rights of these veterans and their wives, how do you think they would be treated by the railroad's law dept.? They make sharks seem like minnows! Railroad claims agents are so sympathetic that they will generally offer "burial expenses" to accident victims in exchange for their signed promise NOT to bring legal action against them. What a deal! Now, who are these "sharks" that are gathering?

you are already blaming the train. Maybe it was there fault, maybe not. That's why there is an investigation by the proper agencies. A train cannot stop on a dime, and trains are usually pretty close to a schedule, so why was a float crossing the tracks at that time?

There are too many questions unanswered to assume where fault lies.

Although I am not unsympathetic to the victims, let's make sure the blame is placed where it belongs.

What makes you think that lawyers are either trained or qualified to do investigations? Collecting information is different from conducting an investigation, just like information is not necessarily a fact. Besides, a hired lawyer is hardly unbiased, and all government agencies are not worthless.

Yes they do go after deep pockets. But good lawyers will hire the beat expert witnesses an can get court orders to do discovery. Government agencies are not "worthless" - but are not as we'll motivated or as we'll financed as good lawyers. Many agencies are revolving doors for the industries they are supposed to regulate. I prefer freedom for business and then let them answer to privAte parties and their lawyers. Government is inefficient. Look at OSHA - the fine good employers for technicalities but it is the lawyers holding business account table for injury that really makes things safer. Of course there are abuses and no system is perfect but I would rather have a good lawyer than a beauracrat if I was hurt.

Many questions remain unanswered. One thing is for certain, there will be much room for blame. First and foremost, the city of Midland should not have granted a parade permit with an active train track at that location. The possibility of negligence by Union Pacific and Ancor's power outage may be factors, nevertheless this should not have happened. Why did the truck driver not do more? Where was the Midland PD/sheriff during this mishap? Innocent people are dead and someone should be held responsible for this obvious unnecessary loss of life.

"Show of Support" and their affiliates (Hunt for Heroes) should receive no funds in the name of the victims until they are cleared of negligence. Prayers to the victims' families and to those who are still hospitalized.

No matter what you think about lawyers, this is one instance where their expertise will serve those who have been harmed thru no fault of their own.

I read somewhere that Cobarobio's camera was confiscated by the MPD and he was threatened with arrest if he did not hand it over. Since when do police substantiate such heavy handed treatment of eyewitnesses and their property? Could it be that the MPD and the MSO will be shamed when the video shows blatant incompetence/negligence in handling an event as simple as a parade? Something went horribly wrong and as usual the 'good ole boys' try to cover it up by jailing Cobarobio when he refused to hand over his own property. Lawlessness has taken over Midland and you can't blame it all on the oil boom!

Personal injury is something that anyone can go through and there are many possible reasons that can be behind someone being injured. In such circumstances, it is a common enough thing to hire a personal injury lawyer and make a claim against the cause of your suffering and injuries.